2008 - a turning point for INTERPOL

OASIS Africa, a Germany-funded police infrastructure support project launched this year, is allowing INTERPOL to take an innovative approach towards police challenges in the region, paving the way for future development by empowering national police and enhancing capacity and infrastructure. This integrated strategy will serve as a model for other world regions.

Support offered by INTERPOL to its member countries included the deployment of an Incident Response Team to the Philippines to help identify hundreds of victims of a major ferry disaster by DNA analysis following Typhoon Frank. The Disaster Victim Identification team working out there were named ‘Citizen of the Year’ by the Philippines newspaper, the Sun Star Daily.

In May INTERPOL published the results of its independent forensic examination of computers and hardware seized from a FARC terrorist camp by Colombia. The report will determine international standards for future computer forensic examinations.

As the year closed, an INTERPOL delegation led by Secretary General Ronald K. Noble held top-level talks in India and Pakistan to enhance mutual assistance and co-operation in the fight against terrorism, in the wake of deadly terrorist bombings in Islamabad and Mumbai.

“The work of the police community worldwide in promoting and improving INTERPOL’s global tools, databases and assistance on the ground ensures that like never before, the Organization is well-positioned and better equipped to assist law enforcement in our 187 member countries to respond to the changing security landscape that requires more of all of us,” said Secretary General Noble, in reference to the year’s highlights, amongst which:

• Wayne Corliss, pictured sexually abusing children in images found on the Internet, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the US just 48 hours after INTERPOL launched Operation IDent, its second global public appeal for help in identifying a paedophile.
  
  
• Operation SOGA II across Asia led to 1,300 arrests and USD16.8 million seized in cash following INTERPOL's second co-ordinated operation against illegal soccer gambling.
  
  
• a Major Events Support Team was deployed to Beijing as part of international security efforts for the Summer Olympics.  China set a standard – all visitors’ passports were screened against INTERPOL’s databases.
  
  
• INTERPOL opened a liaison office at the European Union in Brussels and appointed Mr Pierre Reuland as its Special Representative to the EU to strengthen police co-operation.
  
  
• the Vatican City State became INTERPOL’s 187th member country.
  
  
• INTERPOL’s Intellectual Property Rights programme saw Operation Jupiter in South America net 185 arrests and seize counterfeit and pirated goods worth more than USD121 million, while Operation Mamba, the first combined INTERPOL-World Health Organization IMPACT operation in Africa, targeted hundreds of outlets selling counterfeit medicines.
  
  
• Africa also saw the largest-ever international operation against wildlife crime. Co-ordinated with INTERPOL, Operation Baba led to almost 60 arrests and one ton of illegal elephant ivory was seized.
  
  
• more than 3,100 international wanted persons Red Notices were issued.
  
  
• more than 1,000 individuals were identified through fingerprint comparisons, compared to under 800 in 2007.
  
  
• Project Pink Panthers, relating to armed jewellery robberies committed worldwide by a single gang, saw the arrest in Monaco of two men after police identified them from a photo circulated by INTERPOL.
  
  
• the Stolen and Lost Travel Documents database reached more than 16.6 million entries, with worldwide searches on the database reaching more than 52 million – more than double for 2007.
  
  
• co-operation agreements were signed with the World Anti-Doping Agency, the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at External Borders (Frontex), the Caribeean Community (CARICOM) and the Anti-Terrorism Centre of the Commonwealth of Independent States (ATC-CIS).